Finance Committee preliminarily approves Community Health & Safety budget after a wide‑ranging presentation on services, capacity and risks.

The Finance Committee on April 25 voted to give preliminary approval to the Community Health & Safety Department’s FY26 budget after Director Henry Hammond Ball and Deputy Director Maria Sanchez Tucker outlined needs and program priorities across libraries, senior services, recreation and youth and family services. The department requested larger staffing capacity for homelessness work, improvements to senior and youth facilities, and investments in data and program evaluation.

Director Hammond Ball said the department’s total proposed FY26 budget is roughly $41.25 million, with 226 positions (201.5 FTE) and roughly 40 vacancies. He said community services (centralized administration) supports libraries, recreation and senior services and that he is focusing personally on homelessness response and emergency management. The presentation noted that budgets were prepared using a three‑year average and that accounting changes affecting transfers may affect year‑to‑year comparisons.

Libraries: The department proposes to maintain three libraries, expand digital access and continue planning a Midtown (Fogelson) redesign. Staff said recent heat‑mapping of the site drives a user‑focused cleanup rather than a full redesign. Councilors and library staff discussed continued public‑access concerns, and staff said cardholder and program participation have increased since FY17.

Senior services: Senior services operates three senior centers, provides congregate and home‑delivered meals and transportation, and staff said the division has 11 vacancies and aging facilities. Director Manuel Sanchez (senior services) asked for restoration to pre‑pandemic staffing levels; staff identified seven positions (health‑promotion and arts instructors) that would restore programmingity. The budget includes $40,000 one‑time nuisance funding for emergency cleanup and cited legal and administrative costs tied to abatement and lien recovery.

Recreation: Recreation (three centers, nine pools, a teen center and an ice arena) showed a $13.1 million program request and continued needs for preventive maintenance, pool and ice facility repairs and staffing shortages in aquatics and supervision. Staff said 27 vacancies exist across recreation, many in aquatic roles; registration demand for summer youth programs can exceed capacity (500 participants' registrations fill quickly). Councilors discussed prioritizing city residents when program slots are limited and pursuing county cost‑sharing for heavily used facilities in county neighborhoods.

Youth and family services: This division covers homelessness response, violence‑intervention programs, eviction prevention, guaranteed income pilots, early childhood programming and nonprofit contract management. The department reported that most of FY26’s spending in this division is programmatic rather than personnel; new budgeted positions will create a four‑person homelessness and housing‑services team (three program managers and a data/policy manager) to expand eviction prevention, landlord outreach and emergency homelessness response. Staff announced plans to establish at least two additional micro‑community sites (small, managed outdoor shelter sites) to expand shelter capacity.

Capital and one‑time projects: Staff described a state appropriation of approximately $1.7 million to expand the Southside teen‑center kitchen and pantry; staff expect design and construction to require up to a year after design completion. One‑time funding will also support facility upgrades at pools and the ice arena and the MEG center expansion.

Grant funding and federal risk: Directors flagged reliance on federal and state grant funding for some programs (AmeriCorps funds, federal grant support for senior services). They said a change in federal funding could trigger state shortfalls that would affect local matching requirements. Staff said some grant stacks have cascading matches and that the department is pursuing state and private grants to continue select ARPA‑funded programs. Councilors and the mayor discussed the need for a broader conversation with Santa Fe County about cost‑sharing for services that benefit both jurisdictions, such as libraries, pools and teen services.

The committee voted to grant preliminary approval to the department’s FY26 budget by roll call. Councilors asked staff to return with more detail on vacancies, anticipated county cost‑sharing, and the evaluation results of direct cash assistance programs (a UNM evaluation was described as forthcoming in June). Staff said eviction‑prevention funding previously distributed this year expended quickly.

What’s next: The department will continue homelessness program hiring, pursue teen‑center kitchen construction design and carry out preventative maintenance and capital planning for recreation facilities. Staff will provide requested vacancy breakdowns and follow up on county cost‑sharing options.